The 2026 NTT IndyCar Series schedule is out and has several surprises, with a return for a third attempt at a former tentpole facility, two new street courses and another doubleheader.
Like 2025, there are 17 races, with the season kicking off for the 15th time at St. Petersburg on March 1.
“Our growth is industry-leading and will only accelerate faster as we continue our powerful partnership with FOX Sports and increase investment in our events,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said in a statement. “The 2026 NTT IndyCar Series schedule provides a dynamic showcase for our sport and its stars, blending fan-favorite race weekends with incredible showcases at exciting new venues. We cannot wait for 2026.”
Gone are doubleheaders at Iowa Speedway in June, races impacted by sponsor Hy-Vee pulling out in 2024, and a road course at the Thermal Club in California, which was a private club circuit.
New is the addition of a second unique doubleheader between the NASCAR Cup Series and IndyCar at Phoenix Raceway March 7 and the Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys supported Grand Prix of Arlington a week later (March 15).
The doubleheader at Phoenix returns the 1-mile oval that had long been a mainstay on IndyCar schedule dating to 1964, and is being revived for a third time, the last race run in 2018. This will be the first time a NASCAR Cup/IndyCar doubleheader is done at an oval, two years after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course weekend concluded. Like at IMS, IndyCar will run on the same day as the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
With the two new races, both in March, IndyCar will maintain momentum early in the season with a full month of racing.
“We’re going to kickstart the season in fitting fashion, with four races in five weeks,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “Our joint weekend in partnership with NASCAR and FOX at Phoenix Raceway will be a can’t-miss for motorsport fans across the country and a truly special celebration of fast, fearless racing across the motorsport landscape.”
Absent from the calendar is Mexico City, which was in contention to making the final cut, but INDYCAR announced on Saturday (Sept. 13) that a deal could not be reached for 2026. Instead, the series is bringing back a doubleheader at Milwaukee to reach the desired 17-race benchmark after doing similar in 2024.
Other changes include the previously announced move of the Toronto Indy from downtown to the suburb of Markham. Nashville Superspeedway loses its valuable season finale slot but is now inserted into the primetime window following Fox’s broadcast of the World Cup Final on July 19. In its former place, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca returns to its season finale position like it was in 2022 and 2023.
The Sunday primetime World Wide Technology Raceway event returns on June 7, joining Nashville as night races.
All races will once again be aired exclusively on Fox.
| Date | Venue |
| Sunday, March 1 | Streets of St. Petersburg |
| Saturday, March 7 | Phoenix Raceway |
| Sunday, March 15 | Streets of Arlington |
| Sunday, March 29 | Barber Motorsports Park |
| Sunday, April 19 | Streets of Long Beach |
| Saturday, May 9 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course |
| Sunday, May 24 | The 110th Indianapolis 500 |
| Sunday, May 31 | Streets of Detroit |
| Sunday, June 7 | World Wide Technology Raceway |
| Sunday, June 21 | Road America |
| Sunday, July 5 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course |
| Sunday, July 19 | Nashville Superspeedway |
| Sunday, Aug. 9 | Portland International Raceway |
| Sunday, Aug. 16 | Streets of Markham |
| Saturday, Aug. 29 | Milwaukee Mile Race 1 |
| Sunday, Aug. 30 | Milwaukee Mile Race 2 |
| Sunday, Sept. 6 | WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca |
Tom is an IndyCar writer at Frontstretch, joining in March 2023. Besides writing the IndyCar Previews and frequent editions of Inside IndyCar, he will hop on as a fill-in guest on the Open Wheel podcast The Pit Straight. A native Hoosier, he calls Fort Wayne home. Follow Tom on Twitter @TomBlackburn42.